Till recently, the fastest Japanese torpedo boat was one captured
from the Chinese at Wei-hai-wei. Some very fast boats were built
in the period 1898-1901, the types being Normand and Yarrow (Viper
type), mostly the former. Details will be found in the Appendix. Some
recent boats reached 29 knots on trial, and they are practically small
destroyers.
The early Japanese torpedo boats were of the “second-class” variety,
usually of the Normand or some similar French type, and the boats which
sealed the fate of the Chinese Fleet at Wei-hai-wei were mostly of this
pattern.
[Illustration: THE FIRST TORPEDO BOAT BUILT IN JAPAN.
(Nos. 5-19 are of this type.)]